Dwelling Place

Guest (Male): Today, on the Dwelling Place.

Al Pittman: But, I thought about that. You know, no one's going to freak out, I don't think. If anyone's the the the moon passes in front of the sun, nobody's going to go, oh, where did the sun go? You know. Nobody's going to freak out, right? Cuz then we're all laughing like, yeah, you know, the sun's there, come on. And God said, in the same way it is with me, when your life is eclipsed by a trial, the sun is still there.

Guest (Female): Dwelling place, dwelling place, dwelling place. You are my dwelling place, dwelling place, dwelling place.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry from Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow. To support this program financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at alpittmanministries.com. That's alpittmanministries.com. Thank you for partnering with us. Now, here's Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: On that are on earth, visible and is in in the invisible, with the thrones and dominions and principalities or powers. Every demonic power, he is sovereign over that and the creator of it. Not the demonic activity, but creator of even the fallen angels. All things were created through him and for him. Amen. And you what's my purpose in the world? You're created for God to have fellowship with God. Not, you know, to you know, win the applause of people or to be, you know, promoted yourself, but as a believer, as a disciple, follower of Christ, I was created that I might know God.

And that is when I'm my most alive when I'm in fellowship with God. That's when life makes sense. That's when life has meaning when I am one with God. And that can only happen through faith in Jesus Christ. Amen. But, he is creator, creator. Now, listen, this is important that Paul ascribes to Jesus Christ the title of creator because only God can create. There again, for those who say that he never said he was God, he calls him creator. Only God can create. The devil can't create anything. He only imitates. He imitates joy. He imitates peace.

He imitates power. Imitates life. And the things you're living for is not real at all. Amen. Cuz none of those things that the devil imitates or produces has any eternal value. Only in Christ is there eternal value. The devil says, oh, you're going to have so much peace if you just embezzle this money and and you go to Jamaica, you'll live your life in peace. It doesn't last. Amen. They catch up with you. You end up on the on the news. Amen. The devil said, oh, oh, if you just leave your wife and be with that woman, how much joy you're going to have.

Oh, you'll be you'll have joy for a while. Even that rolls off. Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen.

Al Pittman: Oh, you're going to you're going to have power, you know. But, everything he promises is fleeting. It doesn't last because he's an imitator. He's a poser. He's a pretender. He's a child abuser. And many of us, maybe not physically, but mentally have been abused by the enemy from my infancy, from my from childhood. And he's trying to haunt you with those things rest of your life. But, they're lies from the enemy. Jesus, however, can create create something new for if any man be in Christ or any woman, they are a new creation. Amen. Old things have passed away, behold, all things become brand new.

Amen. Jesus is the creator. The Bible tells us in John chapter 1 verse 3 that all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made. Look around, everything you see, his hand, his fingerprint is upon it. This stage, this podium, the people sitting next to you, he's the creator of it all. This includes all things. You say, well, some things. All things in heaven and on earth, invisible and visible, he has created. Therefore, we can trust him. Amen. He sees things that you can't see. Remember his encounter with Peter. Oh, Lord, I'll never leave you.

Peter come here, let me show you something. Look here, come here, come here, just just shut up for a moment. Look. Let me pull the curtain back. The devil has asked for you. Cuz Jesus could see what Peter couldn't see. Amen. Sometimes we wonder why God doesn't allow me to do X, Y, Z. Maybe it's cuz he sees something you don't see. Amen. He sees the visible and the invisible. All we see is the visible, but he sees the invisible as well. He sees and he's Lord and creator over all of it, has dominion over all of it.

All things The word all things, the phrase all things literally means all forms of declension. An interesting word. All forms of declension The declension is the condition of decline or moral deterioration. He is sovereign over moral deterioration in all forms of declension. This world is in decline. And but the beauty of this is that if he's Lord over all things, all declension, there are a lot of lives that he's Lord over. There are a lot of people who feel like it's over for me. I've ruined my life. But, in your declining state, he's able to redeem you.

He's able to deliver you. Amen. He is sovereign over all creation because he is the creator. Joel chapter 2 verse 25 says, for I will restore the Lord God says, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts has eaten. Oh, man, that's good news for people over 50. Amen. That's good news. God will restore. Amen. Even though outwardly I'm perishing, inwardly I'm being renewed day by day in Jesus Christ. And no matter if you're 60, 70, 80 years old or more, that in the moment you say yes, Lord, and give your life to Christ, he restores to you the years that the locusts have eaten.

Amen. And you say, I ruined my life, but Jesus is a fixer-upper. Amen. He can redeem. He can restore by the power of his Holy Spirit. He can stop the sinful declension and moral deterioration in our lives. Evolutions will tell you that no, we we're eventually going to evolve into a better form of life and and then we're going to save ourselves through technology and robots and living on the moon and all this other kind of stuff. But, you can live on the moon if you want, you're still in decline. Amen. You're still in decline.

Here here's the problem with moving away and getting away from your problems, you take you with you. If you could just leave you at home and go to Maui, you'd have a great time. Amen. Amen. I got to tell this story. My wife and I were at Sam Cook's Cove there in Maui and they put us in a uh uh one of those dual kayaks. You had to paddle over to Sam Cook's Cove. I don't know if you've ever been there. Uh really a beautiful spot and all that. We're there in paradise and we are getting all the way across cuz she wouldn't follow my stroke and I wouldn't follow her.

I follow here we are in the middle of paradise. Amen. In declension. Amen. Arguing about the, you know, who's who should be following who and then she got managed up. Well, then you just paddle. I just yeah, I'll paddle. Don't try to paddle all by yourself all the way across Captain Cook's Cove there. Amen. I was worn out. You know, I didn't want to admit it though. You know, I got there you know. But, I thought here we are, man. It's like, Lord, we're just sinners. And then you can put us in paradise, problem is you put you we have to take us with us.

Amen. We met a guy actually at the airport the other day and he was he had a kayak with him. He had come to Colorado to do some river rafting, whatever they do, crazy stuff and and he said, oh, yeah, I used to do a tour cuz I was telling him about our little Hawaii story. He's like, we used to do tours with kayaks and we used to call that double kayak thing the divorce boat. My point is is that we're in declension. Amen. And you can move to the moon or whatever, but you take you with you.

Amen. And only Jesus Christ can make the difference. And listen on a more serious note, we're in declension. You don't believe me? Oh, Pastor, things are going to get better. Yeah, I hope things get better and I pray things I pray for revival. I pray that God would turn our nation around. My heart breaks for our country. But, I see evidence of declension all around. All I got to mention is Charlottesville. We thought all that was dead. That was behind us. No, it's in front of us. Because men are in decline apart from God. All I got to mention is ISIS.

All I got to mention is North Korea. Amen. We're in declension. Oh, I thought we fought the Korean War. Oh, yeah. But, it's back again. All I got to mention is the sad account of two police officers being shot to death in Kissimmee, Florida the other night. We're in declension. And our only hope to stop the deterioration of mankind is faith in Jesus Christ. John 10 10 the thief has come has does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. Jesus said, I have come that they may have life. He came to stop our declension and that you may have it more abundantly.

Only a creator can create beauty out of ashes. Only a creator in Genesis chapter 1 could speak life, breathe life into the dust of the earth. Only a creator can raise that which is dead to life. How about you? Have you met the creator? Have you come back to life? Have you been born again by the spirit of God? The foolishness of mankind is that we would rather hang on to our declension to that which is declining rather than embrace the one who delivers our soul. This has been the downfall of mankind from the beginning.

We think falsely that we can save ourselves. Jesus said, what is it profit a man to gain the whole world and then to lose his soul? Heaven and earth he said will pass away. It's in decline. It's in declension. It's fading away, but my words will never fade away, will never pass away.

Guest (Male): Amen. We hope you're enjoying today's message so far. We wanted to take a quick break to thank you for supporting the Dwelling Place. Because of you, this message and many more will reach the whole world. If you like to support this ministry, please visit us at alpittmanministries.com or mail a check to PO Box 505 84 Colorado Springs, Colorado 809 49. That's PO Box 505 94 Colorado Springs, Colorado 809 49. Again, thank you for supporting the Dwelling Place. Now, let's get back into the message.

Al Pittman: He is the great creator. He is our deliverer. He is the image of God and lastly, he is before all things. Amen. I'm glad the Lord is always before. The old saying, God is previous. God goes before us. And wherever you may be going in your life, he's been there. I love it when you get to that trial, he's already stockpiled enough grace to take you through it cuz he's gone before you. But, he's before all things. Again, Paul speaking of his supremacy here in verse 17, and he is before all things and in him all things consist.

Before it you know, it's Captain Obvious here, just means before, right? But, it also means superior over all things. Superior over all things. And thus, anything apart from him really is futility. And Romans chapter 8 again verses 20 to 23 talks about that very fact that God subjected the world to futility in hope that the world might repent and come to him. And what does that mean? That means that he put us in this world and then when sin entered the world, he subjected to declining, to declension, and and to deterioration in hope that we would look around and go, wait a minute, you know, we need the Lord.

And turn to him and see the futility and hoping in things that have no eternal value. That's why God submitted him creation to futility. And there's groaning. There was groaning as a result of that. I think a lot of the things we see happening in the world today and one form or another is is really creation groaning because they're unsatisfied. And people think, oh, if we just take down all the the monuments, if we just do all these things, the Civil War monuments, if we do all these things, if we if we just, you know, pass laws and if we do all this stuff, we'll have peace.

No, you won't. No, you won't. There'll still be hatred and declension among There'll still be groaning because we are unfulfilled as a creation apart from the living God. And the Bible tells us and Paul tells us here that in him all things consist. All things consist. That word consist in Greek is means to strengthen, to set together, to constitute, to give legal form. To another words, without that legal form, there is no no consistency or no coming together. There's a law that's passed that says basically because of this law, things are held together. In him all things consist.

All things are set together in him. I was reading a story, you know, is a brief little illustration of this very fact that don't read it to you. It says that a guide a guide took a group of people through an atomic laboratory explained how all matter was composed of rapidly moving electric particles. And the tour studied the models of molecules of models of molecules and were were amazed to learn that matter is made up primarily of space. And during the question period, one visitor asked, if this is the way matter works, what holds it all together?

For that, the guide had no answer because here's the reality and I checked this out with some prominent scientists in our own congregation. And I called them and said, hey, I want to make sure I'm right on this. He said, yes, scientists aren't sure what holds the nucleus and the atom together. They simply call it the weak force and the strong force, but we call it Jesus. Amen. What's holding that Do you Did you know that Amen. Give the Lord praise and glory. Amen. You ever thought about that? What's holding it all together, the world together?

Scientists say we've got it down to the to the atoms and the protons. Protons as far as we can go. We don't know what's holding it all together. It's the weak force and the strong force somehow. The Bible says, in him all things consist. It's Jesus holding it all together. He's holding it all together and and if he wasn't holding it all together, it would all explode and fall apart. In him, not some things, all things, seen and unseen. The universe itself is held together in Christ. In Revelation chapter 1 verse 17, when Jesus declared himself before John, John saw Jesus glorified.

Woo. And he fell down before Jesus like a dead man. And Jesus said to him, I am the first and the last. That word first is interesting because it's from the Greek word and it means first in time, place, order, importance at the beginning. It's where we get the word proton. Protos. Before protons, Jesus existed. Amen. Hallelujah. Before the before the beginning, he was in order of importance and place and time and all. Before those things, before protons, that unstable subatomic part a particle found in atoms before it came into being, Jesus existed. He is the protos, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the first and the last.

Amen. Before all things, before all things. Therefore, the first born implies sovereignty. In him all things consist. He is sovereign over all. Paul reminds the church here Christ is holding the world together until the new heaven and the new earth comes to be. Peter tells us in 2 Peter chapter 3 verses 10 to 13. Again, you can go back and read it later. He tells them there that the old earth and the old heaven will dissolve, will pass away. The world is held together until today Jesus lets it go and it passes away. Revelation chapter 21 verse 1 tells us that the new heaven and new earth will appear.

Now, this of course will happen after the rapture of the church, after the 7-year tribulation period, after the return of Jesus Christ and he steps down on the Mount of Olives. Amen. And comes to set up his kingdom for 1,000 years. After that 1,000 year reign, the new heaven and new earth will appear. But, until then he's holding together. Here's the deal. Until then he's holding you together. What keeps you from falling apart? I don't know about you, but there's some days where like, God, I'm not going to make it. Hey, God, you probably don't want me to preach this weekend.

Amen. I'm just being real with you. I should probably stay home with you know, so the people will be safe. And I'm going through some stuff. He said, you go ahead anyway, I'll keep you together. And I've watched God hold me together again and again and again. If he can hold the universe together, he can hold you together. Amen. You're not going to fall apart. No, the devil's telling you, oh, you're going to fall apart. No, you're not. That old song, he's got the whole world in his hands. That's good theology. Because as long as you're in his hands and Jesus said, I've placed him in the Father's hand and no one can snatch them out, you he can hold you together.

Amen. You're secure. You're going to be all right. Amen. Therefore, he is able to hold us. In him we consist. In him we consist. Now, next week we're going to look at the last three aspects of his supremacy and that is the head, Jesus being the head of the church, the fullness of God, and Jesus being our reconciler. So, we'll I hope you come back next week for the part two of this message as we take time this pause as Paul does here in the text and just says, let's talk about Jesus. And let's see look at the affection or the the object of our affection.

It's always good for us to do that as the church to remember who's our deliverer, to remember who's the image of God, to remember that in him all things consist. Remember that he is is over all, that he is supreme, no matter what we're facing. It puts everything else in perspective. Here's I want to leave you with in conclusion and that is that everyone, mostly everyone is in participating in the total solar eclipse on Monday, tomorrow. Anybody got their glasses? I might get your glasses. Not not a lot of people got their glasses. I think the rest of y'all just a bunch of rebellious people like me.

You just going to look at the sun anyway. I don't believe them telling I don't believe anything. I don't believe nothing's going to happen. You're like me, right? I'm going to take a little glimpse like you know. Get get yourself some glasses. Amen. Um but you know, it's a it's it's a a an awe-inspiring event as it's been called because the last one was back in 1918. Amen. And it's awe-inspiring for me. Amen. My generation goes, we probably won't be around for the next one. Amen. And it's something to behold and you know, of course the the moon passes between the earth and the sun, many of you know what that solar eclipse is all about, blocking out part or all of the sun, depends on where you are.

And I thought, man, wow, is it going to be need knowing Jesus being as our creator and with part from him, anything that was made was everything he's everything was made by him. Amen. And it's going to be great to look at that eclipse tomorrow and to go, you know, my Jesus made that. Amen. Amen. Brought to you by compliments of Jesus Christ. Amen. That he's in charge of all of that. There's nothing that's been made was was made unless it was made through him. But, I thought about that. You know, no one's going to freak out, I don't think.

If anyone's the the the moon passes in front of the sun, nobody's going to go, oh, where did the sun go? You know. Nobody's going to freak out, right? Cuz then we're all laughing like, yeah, you know, the sun's there, come on. And God said, in the same way it is with me, when your life is eclipsed by a trial, the sun is still there. Why do you panic? They don't panic over the the eclipse of the the sun tomorrow. Nobody's going to panic. And yet, you know, there's a little eclipse in your life, a little trial and you freak out.

The sun's always there. Why? Because the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, 400 times further away as well. So, it seems like it's being eclipsed, but it's so much greater than the moon. And Jesus is so much greater the sun, is so much greater than whatever trial may be eclipsing your life right now. You just continue to trust in him. Amen. He is faithful. He is our deliverer. He is the image of God. He is our creator. He is our In him we consist. He is our constant friend in eternal victory. Nebuchadnezzar I think said it best when he said in Daniel chapter 3 verse 29 in light of who Jesus is, there is no other God who can deliver like this.

No matter what you're facing, there is no other God who can deliver like this. And John spoke wrote emphatically in 1 John chapter 5 verse 12 where he said, therefore, because of the supremacy of Jesus, he who has the son has life. And he who does not have the son of God does not have life. Why? Because the son of God is also the author of everlasting life.

Guest (Female): Dwelling place, dwelling place, dwelling place. You are my dwelling place, dwelling place, dwelling place.

Guest (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting alpittmanministries.com. Also, consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at PO Box 505 84 Colorado Springs, Colorado 809 49 or visit us online. Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing info@alpittmanministries.com. That's info@alpittmanministries.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time on the Dwelling Place. God bless.